Civil Society Organizations Talked About City and Advocacy in the “Arena”

Organized by YADA Foundation and Civil Pages, a workshop focusing on city and advocacy was held within the frame of Meydan (Arena) project in İstanbul. The workshop included discussions about advocacy and cooperation between organizations, and gathered many CSOs together.

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Indicating that the ones who are activists or who talk about cities are usually relevant experts, Mehmet Ali Çalışkan from YADA Foundation said that those people generally did not focus much on children’s, women’s, minorities’ or the disabled people’s involvement in a city. “However, city is an important junction point for many different organizations. Organizations that focus on women or religion or LGBTI issues also think and discuss about city. City is a common subject for CSOs working on different issues. It also enables organizations to leave nothing behind when ruminating about city,” he said.

Evaluating the outcome of the workshop, Mehmet Ali Çalışkan drew the attention to the commonality of demands related to designing/arranging different areas in a city. He noted in his closing speech that thanks to that commonality, it is possible to create a culture of cooperation between organizations.